Haven’t been able to catch The Mighty Short Bus yet? You’ll have another opportunity to hear this Rock/Americana/Southern-influenced, working-class band perform at 5 p.m. on Friday, August 20th at the Isthmus Block Party on the 100 block of East Main Street in Downtown Madison.
Still wondering about The Mighty Short Bus sound? According to their Facebook page, band members Frank Busch, Nic Adamany, Rob Junceau, and Andrew Iordachescu suggest that you, “Imagine the Black Crowes and Tom Petty being taken into a room and forced to watch CMT. When they’re nice and re-educated, (a-la Clockwork Orange style), AC/DC shows up and kicks all their asses.”
DJ Nick Nice will also be at the Isthmus Block Party, which will feature some new “eat-on-the-street” dishes from the restaurants on the block. For some people, however, the highlight of the evening will be the announcement of this year’s Madison Favorites
Yes, Friday comes early next week in Milwaukee. More than 20,000 pounds of cod, perch, walleye, and more from several local restaurants will be served at Milwaukee’s Largest Fish Fry. Fish will be sold in 3 oz. portions (starting at $3 each).
Admission tickets are $6 in advance or $10 at the gate on day of event, but if you act before midnight on Monday, August 16th, you can snag them on Groupon for just $3. When you click on the link to Groupon, you may not land at the Milwaukee offer; if this happens, just use the “Visit More Cities” pulldown menu at the top of the page to navigate to the correct city. If you miss the groupon deal, you may order tickets in advance on the website for Milwaukee’s Largest Fish Fry.
Your admission ticket also entitles you to an array of complimentary fish fry sides, including French fries from McCain and the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Association, rye bread from S. Rosen’s, butter from Grassland, Tartar sauce from McCormick, and ice cream from “The Original Fat Boy Premium Ice Cream.”
The 26th annual Triangle Ethnic Fest runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m Sunday, August 15th in the triangle formed by the intersection of South Park Street, Regent Street, and Braxton Place. There is no admission charge and parking is free.
The festival will feature a wide variety of dance and music performances, including appearances by the Italian Folk Dancers of Madison, Viv Ncaus Hmong Dancers, the “Metienins” Latvian Dance Group, and the 15 Omar Coleman Blues Band featuring A.J. Love.
In addition, there will be historical and cultural exhibits; arts and craft vendors; a dunk tank; and ethnic food vendors, including Vientiane Restaurant (Lao and Thai), People’s Bakery (Middle Eastern), Italian American Women’s Club (Italian Grill and Bakery), Jamerica (Jamaican), and Leon Garcia (Mexican corn and ice cream).
For additional information, including a complete schedule of events and vendors, visit the Bayview Foundation website.
We wanted to give you advance notice about this sale, since the hours are limited: The St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store at 1309 Williamson Street is holding a one-day bicycle sale from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 21st..
There will be all kinds of bikes, ranging in price from $10 to several hundred dollars. The bikes are stored in the basement, so they won’t be available for viewing until the day of the sale.
If you plan to attend the sale on Saturday, please enter the store on the South Baldwin Street side.
Celebrate National Mustard Day in Middleton from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, August 7th.
There will be lots of free music and entertainment at this family-friendly event, which also features FREE* Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs and cheese tastings by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. The Wienermobile will be there and you’ll find lots of opportunities to take memory-filled photos of yourself as a hot dog — as well as other people dressed in mustard finery.
We’re looking forward to trying “Culver’s Fresh Frozen Mustard Custard with Chocolate Pretzel Crunch” — even if it’s not free.
Even before the USA Today article about National Mustard Day was published, Mustard Museum founder Barry Levenson was expecting lots of people to attend, so he’s made some special arrangements to help ease the inevitable parking crunch in Downtown Middleton.
The annual Lands’ End Warehouse Clearance Event, featuring merchandise at up to 75% off the catalogue price,begins at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 28th and runs through 4 p.m. on Monday, August 2nd at Ley Pavillion at Harris Park, 600 North Bennett Road in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.
According to Lands’ End, “During the 6-day event, tables and clothing racks are continually restocked so you’ll find an ever-changing selection of clothing, luggage and home items up to 75% off original prices.”
The Madison Children’s Museum is now accepting ticket order forms for its Annual Benefit Sale of American Girl Returns and Seconds, which will be held from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 17th and 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday, July 18th at the ABS Warehouse, 8830 North Greenview Drive in Middleton.
Admission tickets are $5 each and there is a limit of four (4) tickets per order. Quantities are limited and tickets often sell out before the event. Complete ticket purchasing procedures are detailed in a downloadable PDF.
The Annual Benefit Sale is a fundraising event that attracts thousands of customers from all around the country. Throughout the year, Madison Children’s Museum volunteers repair and restore merchandise donated by American Girl, which the company has rejected as seconds or has accepted from customers as returns.
According to the Overture Center, “The concert will benefit youth literacy advocates Lions In The Library as well as the South African community development phenomenon Kwanda! The event will also feature a live auction of signed merchandise by the artist and from ‘Disney’s The Lion King.’” There will also be an opportunity for concertgoers to have their photos taken with cast members.
Tickets are not required, but there is a $10 suggested donation.
The third annual Isthmus Green Day expo at Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center runs from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 17th. Admission tickets are $5, but organizers are offering a slew of ways to gain free admission:
Taking the bus: Bring your ticket or bus pass to the ticket booth.
Riding your bike: Park your bike with our bike valet on Olin Terrace at Wilson Street and you’ll receive a sticker which you can present at the ticket booth for free entry.
Donating to Goodwill: Bring donations right to the ticket desk.
Being a kid: Kids under 12 get in free.
Attending the Wisconsin Film Festival: Flash a Film Festival ticket or ticket stub at the ticket desk.
For Madison foodies, the highlight of the expo is probably the 2 p.m. talk by keynoter Rick Bayless, an award-winning chef-restaurateur, cookbook author, and television personality; but there are a wide variety of other activities to explore and enjoy throughout the day. Visit the Isthmus website for a complete schedule of events.
The conversation, “Investigating Healthy Minds,” will take place at 2:15 p.m. Sunday, May 16th, in the Overture Center’s Capitol Theater.
The Dalai Lama and Davidson will discuss contemplative neuroscience, a new discipline that explores the intersection of Western science and Eastern contemplative traditions. The conversation will be moderated by Daniel Goleman, an internationally known psychologist and author of “Ecological Intelligence: The Hidden Impacts of What We Buy.”
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle will deliver opening remarks and the Madison Youth Choirs will perform.
Here, from a UW-Madison press release, are the details about obtaining tickets to see the Dalai Lama: “Tickets can be picked up by visiting the UW-Madison campus box offices at Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue or Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street. Tickets can also be reserved by calling Campus Arts Ticketing Service at (608) 265-ARTS (2787). Phone orders must be picked up at the campus box offices before 5 p.m. Saturday, May 15th, during regular box office hours. After this, all unclaimed tickets will be forfeited. Tickets cannot be reserved or ordered online.”
Update (4/17/2010): As of about 1 p.m. this afternoon, there are no longer any tickets available.The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds (CIHM) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison reportedly will provide a live Web cast of the event accessible at its Web site.
The Grand Opening of the National Mustard Museum, a three-day, family-friendly extravaganza celebrating curator Barry Levenson’s favorite condiment, runs from Friday, April 9th through Sunday, April 11th and curator Barry Levenson says, “throngs of mustard-lovers are expected to descend on Middleton for the event.”
The ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 9th. Shortly afterwards, members of the Mount Horeb and Middleton high school cross country and track teams will finish the 17-mile run they started earlier in the day and bring the last jar of Grey Poupon mustard from The National Mustard Museum’s former home in Mount Horeb to its new home at 7477 Hubbard Avenue in Middleton.
Admission to the museum is free, but this weekend there will be lots of additional activities and attractions, including:
The premier of “HITS,” the award-winning short baseball mustard film at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 10th
“Wisconsin Cheeses and the Mustards That Love Them,” a tasting of mustard and cheese pairings presented by Sara Hill of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 10th
Sausage and beer mustard samplings hosted by Bald Eagle Foods of Plymouth, Wisconsin from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 11th
All weekend long: Meet the Duchess of Mustard; eat Klement’s hot dogs and brat sliders for $1 each; and feast on hot pretzels and mustard for $1 each
To make sure you’ll be able to stock your pantry with lots of comestibles, shoppers will enjoy a 10% storewide discount during the event.
Please note: Seating at some events, including tastings, is limited. Plan to arrive early or wait in line patiently.
Dane101.com, Madison’s collaborative arts & culture website (and the place we visit for our Breakfast Links on weekdays) is turning 5 and celebrating “by throwing a totally kick-ass party!” In addition to providing online news and reviews, “Dane101 is behind such city highlights as the annual Fire Ball at the High Noon Saloon, the MadPubQuiz of Awesomeness, the Freakin’ Halloweekend, and a ton more.”
If you’re over 21, you can attend the Dane101 Fifth Anniversary Bash starting at 9 p.m. on Saturday, April 3rd at The Frequency, 121 West Main Street. No need to bring a present, but you will have to pay a $7 cover charge to hear the four bands playing at the bash.
The Guastella Greenbush Triangle Map (from The Spirit of Greenbush, a booklet published on the occasion of the Greenbush Memorial public dedication ceremony in 2000)
Accordionist Sergei Belkin, The Italian Folk Dancers of Madison, and Music Makers Madison will entertain guests at the 34th annual Greenbush Day celebration being held from 3:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22nd in the UW-Madison Welcome Center, 21 N. Park Street. In addition, there will be storytelling and an awards ceremony.
The celebration is free and open to the public.
For more information about the Greenbush neighborhood — past and present — take a look at these blog posts.
From 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 17th, Wisconsin Cheese Originals is sponsoring “a once-in-a-lifetime event to sample and compare 15 unique, rare, international cheeses vs. their Wisconsin artisan counterparts, side by side” at Monona Terrace. Tickets to this tasting event are $20 and include an opportunity to “meet 30 cheese judges representing six continents, as well as 11 award-winning artisan Wisconsin cheesemakers.”
This event is definitely not as cheap as enjoying the free tastings available by a slow stroll through your local Brennan’s Market or Whole Foods Market, but it undoubtedly offers more varieties, bigger chunks of cheese, and less need for surreptitious sneaking of second samples.
Tickets for this event must be purchased in advance through the Wisconsin Cheese Originals website
The St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store at 1309 Williamson Street is holding a one-day bicycle sale from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 6th.
There will be lots of bikes, all kinds of bikes, ranging in price from $10 to $300. We called the store and learned that the bikes are stored in the basement, so they won’t be available for viewing until the day of the sale.
If you plan to attend the sale on Saturday, please enter the store on the South Baldwin Street side.
Ice skating image from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Update: According to the Badger Ticket Office, as of 10:30 a.m. on Monday, January 25th, 2010, tickets for this event are SOLD OUT.
From the Wisconsin Athletic Department comes the following announcement that’s sure to be of interest to anyone who needs an incentive to lace up their ice skates this winter:
In conjunction with the Culver’s Camp Randall Hockey Classic Feb. 6th, a public skate will take place on Friday, Feb. 5th at the outdoor hockey venue built inside Camp Randall Stadium.
The event is free and open to the public. However a ticket specifically for the public skate will be required for entry into the stadium for ALL attendees regardless of age.
Public skate tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis exclusively online at UWBadgers.combeginning at 8:30 AM Monday, January 25th at 8:30 a.m. There is a limit of four tickets per order.
The event will feature four 30 minute skating periods beginning at 7:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. (ice resurfacing will occur from 8-8:30PM). Tickets will be specifically valid for one of the four periods. Skaters must bring their own skates as no skate rental will be available. Sticks and pucks will not be allowed on the ice. Attendees must wear skates to be allowed on the ice surface.
Parking is free on a first-come, first-served basis in Lot 17 adjacent to Camp Randall Stadium. Ticket holders must enter Gate 3 at the north end of the stadium.
It’s taken us a while to learn to love Twitter, but now that we’re getting the hang of it, our efforts are starting to reap some tasty benefits.
Forget about celebrities: We’re following chefs and foodies. We read, we salivate, and sometimes we impulsively head out to eat dinner at a local restaurant. Consider the following temptation Tweeted by Weary Traveler chef Joey Dunscombe (Wearychefjoey) on 12/28: “Tonight we have an apple cider-miso braised pork chop from Jordandal farm with organic broccoli and toasted almond rice.”
If you missed that special, but have a yen for tasting some new and tasty variations on “the other white meat,” you may want to go easy on brunch this weekend in order to save room for the Weary Traveler’s Pork Off! from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Sunday, January 10th.
A benefit for REAP’s Farm to School Program, the Pork Off! will feature 10 chefs and 10 different pork dishes — all for 10 bucks. Sounds delicious! And we suspect that, weather permitting, this could be a very popular event, in which case you may want to heed Dunscombe’s advice in today’s Tweet: “Come early!”
We’re dreaming about the scrumptious Turtle Pie we had last January at Quivey’s Grove Stable Grill — and envisioning some of the treats on the 2010 menus of the 31 participating restaurants. Treats like Homemade Cinnamon Marshmallows at Bluephie’s Restaurant and Vodkatorium and Grass Fed Veal Scaloppini at Dayton Street Grille. And more, much more.
You don’t need a ticket or a coupon to attend, but you may need reservations. Some popular restaurants tend to fill their tables very quickly because the Restaurant Week prices are so appealing (not cheap, but definitely less expensive than you’d normally pay for comparable dining adventures).
Each participating restaurant offers 3 special, fixed–price, 3 course menu options for just $25 per person for dinner (beverages, tax and gratuity not included). Some also offer a special 3 course, 3 option lunch menu for $15.
L’Etoile and Zander’s Capital Grille haven’t posted their menus yet, but you can check out what the other Check out what the restaurants are offering by using the links on Madison Magazine’s “Participating Restaurants” page. That’s the easy part. The difficult task will be figuring out how to best spend your time and money — and how many hours of exercise you’ll need to work off the calories you’re going to consume.
Updated 1/14/2010
The Winter Solstice is Monday, December 21st and at least two local organizations are heralding its arrival with pre-solstice bonfires.
The Friends of Starkweather Creek will sponsor a Solstice Celebration, including a bonfire, beginning at 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 20th at Olbrich Park (below the sledding hill) on Madison’s East Side.
The Four Lakes Group Sierra Club will hosts its annual Winter Solstice bonfire beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 20th at the last fire pit out on Picnic Point. If you plan to attend, organizers offer the following advice: “Bring warm liquids for yourself and a snack to share. Its nearly a mile long hike in, over uneven ground that may be snowy, so don’t forget a warm knit hat, warm gloves/mittens and boots. We want you to have a good time!”
For directions to Picnic Point and a map of the area, visit The University of Wisconsin-Madison Lakeshore Nature Preserve website.
Madison’s “Downtown Holiday Open House” event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 28th, offers a festive respite from the crowded malls and big box stores that are the focus of Black Friday.
Enjoy free trolley rides, stroll around the Capitol Square and down State Street to sample the wares of more than 370 shops, boutiques, bookstores, galleries, and restaurants, many of which are locally owned.
Scanning the list of events provided by the Madison Central Business Improvement District (BID), it’s clear that you can imbibe lots of free cider and a bit of hot chocolate; and eat more than a couple of free cookies if you plan your route carefully.
Downtown merchants aren’t promising a lot of freebies and dizzying discounts, but they do offer a large variety of unique items that you’re unlikely to find elsewhere. One of the best deals on tap is the $25 gift certificate for only $15 (a 40% discount) that you can buy and use at three restaurants: Frida Mexican Grill, Zander’s Capitol Grill, and The Icon. Another good deal may be the Wisconsin Historical Museum shop’s 20% off discount on any “Real Wisconsin Clothing.”
For a complete list of activities and participating businesses, click here.
Remember the candy you used to buy growing up? Buy them now from Candy.com
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DISCLAIMER
We post deals as we find them, but schedules sometimes change and everything has an expiration date. Prices and promotions are always subject to change without notice. It's always wise to call ahead and make certain a bargain is still available or an event has not been canceled.
